Originally posted by bureau creek master:
as i am prepareing to bring in the backhoe to excavate the rest of the pond and silt pond ...
I went with the BG, LMB and FH as a standard choice. I am planning on Bullhead over CC due to the fact that they reproduce quicker then CC. I enjoy eating BH and in this area of IL they get rather large quickly with pleanty in the 1-2lb range in the nearby creek which would be my stock source. I would put some CC in for added enjoyment as they do get larger espechially when fed as i am planning on doing. I am pretty sure i will add some SMB due to the availibility of them from a nearby creek and there excellent fighting abillity. What are other peoples opinions on this? Anybody with luck haveing bullheads in a smaller pond?
I'm far from being an expert, but IMHO I think you may be heading toward minor disaster with bullheads and smallmouth in a very small pond.
But, if your pond is part of a stream, you may have natural stocking, reproduction and control.
I grew up in northern Wisconsin, where many of our family farms included small to medium sized "lakes" of 5 to 80 acres. Bullheads sure can become a nusiance in a short time when predatation gets out of control. I've seen 20-30 foot "clouds" of small bullhead when they become uncontrolled, such as after a winter "freeze out" of northerns and walleyes. The only way bullheads will grow to reasonable size is with lots of very serious predators, like very large northern pike or musky, to keep them under control. And, northerns pose their own problems in small ponds. I'm not sure you can have enough predators in a quarter acre pond to keep them in check. I'd opt for channel cats in moderate quantities. They grow reasonably fast, and if they should spawn - which they probably won't, they are far more easily controlled by large mouth bass. And, at least here in WV and VA, channel cats are cheap to purchase.
Smallmouth are one of my most favorite fish to catch and eat. But, from my experience, they need lots of clear, cool, moving, and fertile water, with lots of gravel bottom, and lots of structure. Possibly because you are fed by a stream, they might do OK, but . . . I wouldn't be too optomistic. I don't think I've ever seen small mouth thrive in the same water as large mouth.
The good thing about small mouths is that they would be a lot less risky than bullheads, as they will probably die out if conditions aren't right, rather than take over.
As an alternative to SMB, how about hybrid striped bass? They grow fast, they are vicious, they won't take over a pond, and they make extremely good table fare.
Good luck,
Ken G.
